


Awake From the Dark

by robinmagic



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7622953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinmagic/pseuds/robinmagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I stuck to his post-crisis origin and also liked his and the Bat's first encounter in Red Hood and the Outlaws so I added that as well (but of course I wrote it in my own way).</p></blockquote>





	1. A Day of Death

The trauma of his death happened so quickly, but his actual death felt so painfully slow. He felt excruciating pain course and violently throb throughout his body. He tried to move—tried to get up, but his body wouldn’t allow it. It was if his agony chained him to the floor. He began to feel his lungs collapsing as if the smoky air was too heavy for him to breathe. His eyesight began to tighten as his vision slowly descended into darkness. The pain started to slowly disappear as his whole body turned completely numb.

At first, Jason was scared—he never wanted to die badly beaten then blown up in a warehouse. No, this kid has always secretly hoped he will die peacefully right next to people who loved and cared for him. However, plans change, so the boy accepted this fate; Jason knew he was dying.

Jason always thought that death was a quick one two three. But as of right now, it felt like death was experimenting with him—trying to see how long someone can suffer before they bite the dust. So, Jason did the only thing he could do. He waited for death to claim him.

Jason felt heavy amounts of pressure on his chest as his breaths now became labored. The ringing in his ears began to decrescendo as he now heard the crackling of dying fire and the frantic shouts of… Batman?

 _Bat...man..._ Jason felt his heart rate beginning to slow and his conscious slowly deteriorating. Batman was here—but it is too late. His son is too far gone to be saved. Jason heard Batman’s running footsteps approaching him.

 _Not… yo...ur fault. I…for...give._ Jason desperately wished he could say these words to the man who took him in, to the man who cared for him when no one else did. But he couldn’t.

“No… not my so-”

The Batman’s last word was cut off as Jason felt his ears pop and his heart beat one last time. Death now sat upon his soul as memories of the life he once lived flooded through his mind.


	2. Memory One: The Tire Snatcher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stuck to his post-crisis origin and also liked his and the Bat's first encounter in Red Hood and the Outlaws so I added that as well (but of course I wrote it in my own way).

There was a time in Jason’s life where he felt hope outweigh despair. He was ten and was with his mother, Catherine, who simply hugged her son ever so tightly and told him with much conviction that everything was going to be okay; she’ll make sure of it. A simple act, sure, but it made Jason’s chest bubble up with such happiness that the world around him began to glow brighter and feel lighter.

            Of course, this moment will never last for long. Life was never fond of Jason, it always snatched the people he loved and cared for. First, the poor bastard he called a father and then… his mother. The poor boy tried to get acquainted with this fact, but the desperation for the need to be loved clung to his back. This need slowly wore him down—turned him rough, however, that is what you need to be if you live in the most dangerous street: Crime Alley, in the most dangerous city: Gotham. If you show any kind of weakness in this part of this city, you’ll be instant prey and be devoured in seconds. Jason knew this—he once watched it unfold in front of him.

It was late one Friday night when Jason was heading back to whatever home he can find after an unsuccessful day of tire “borrowing”. He was swinging around his tire iron in one hand and his tire jack in the other as he was quietly humming the tune of _La Camisa Negra_ by Juanes to himself when he caught the sight of two men stalking a young couple. Before Jason can cause some sort of distraction to save this couple from future trouble, a man who was holding a gun, appeared out from the shadows from one of the alleyways. Jason quickly covered himself with the shadows of the night as the couple quickly halted in their place as Jason can see their faces outlining with fear. The other two men who were following them, pulled out a knife and a gun, cornering the couple.

            “You scream I shoot, do I make myself clear?” Jason saw how the poor frighten couple quickly shook their heads in understanding.

“Now I want every pricey thing dat you have on ya’ in dis bag.” The couple who were succumb by fear, shakily dropped in both of their wallets, a silver watch, and a golden ring.

One of the muggers scoffed. “That’s all ya have?”

“Please, just let us go, please. We’re beggin’ ya.”

One of the muggers shook their head in disagreement as a twisted smile appeared on his face. “No, dis ain’t enough. I want…more.” The mugger said as he roughly grabbed one of the couple and began to unbutton their shirt. Jason breaths got heavy with anger as his hands gripped tightly around his tire iron, turning his knuckles white.

Jason had a strong urge to help them. A strong urge to save them; but it was three armed men who each had to be taller than 5’9 and weighing more than 170 lbs. What can a 4’1 boy with a tire iron and tire jack do?

 _Don’t be a fool_ , Jason thought. _One day, you’ll get your chance to help people. One day. For now, just memorize their faces. Look for any distinct marks on their bodies. Then report it to the police._ He scoffed at himself at that last remark.

 _Okay_. Jason thought. _All three Caucasian men. Each taller than 5’9. Each probably weighing more than 170 lbs. One of the men, who we will call Bimbo, has a tattoo of a naked lady riding a tiger on his right bicep. The others, who we will call Tweedle-dee and Tweedle- dum, have nothing distinct on em’…well, except for bad fashion sense._

“Hey man,” Tweedle-dee said as he placed a stopping hand on Bimbo’s shoulder. “What if da Bat shows up n’ catches ya doin’ what I think ya wanna do? Rememba’ what happened ta Tony? The Bat put em’ out for a full year.”

Jason's eyes widen at Tweedle-dee’s remark. He has never seen the Batman of Gotham. He has heard stories, but… aren’t they _just_ stories the cops made up to scare the criminals?

“Actually, I put him out for two years.” A voice said.

Jason’s breath hitched as his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the _actual_ Batman of Gotham appeared above one of the rooftops. Batman quickly landed and swiftly threw his _actual_ batarangs at the muggers which hit each of their hands. The muggers dropped their weapons as they all hissed in pain.

“Holy…” Jason whispered as he saw how effortlessly Batman took down the muggers.

Jason had to admit, the Bat did look freighting and intimidating. The way he fought was skilled with rage but it had _just_ enough tenderness to not kill his enemies. His stature was huge, making his posture and outline hard and stiff.

However, that perspective instantly changed when Jason saw how nice and caring the Bat was when he approached the couple who were on the floor hugging and crying to one another. The Bat knelt down as he looked at them with protective care in his eyes and assured them everything was okay and that he already apprehended the criminals and contacted the Gotham City Police Department. He was about to leave but one of the couples grabbed him by his cape and pleaded for him to wait with them.

“Nonono—please, stay. We’re so scared who else might come if ya leave. Please—stay.”

So he did.

 _The big bad Batman is a god damn softie._ Jason thought. He was about to disappear from this scene when a damn good thought formed in his head.

_Wait, Batman is probably a man right? I mean his name is BatMAN not BatVAMPIRE or BatROBOT. It is BatMAN. Meaning, he has to have his own sort of transportation to get around Gotham. Chances are, he probably has a car. An expensive high tech car with expensive high tech tires. CHA-CHING! Wait, Jason, before you get excited, you need to know where the Bat parks his high techy car. Most likely, it has to be somewhere close to the action while it is in a secluded place. You need more information…GCPD! I bet they have a whole file about the Batman._

Putting his thought into action, Jason snuck away from the scene and happily made his way to GCPD.

 

Jason knew he was close to the Gotham City Police Department when he saw the light shade of blue casting on the sidewalks from the glowing GCDP lights. Jason made his way to the steps when he halted himself in place. _Espérate_ _menso, you can’t go inside a police station with a tire iron in your hand._ Jason suddenly felt self-conscious. _You also can’t go inside a police station looking like trash. If they find out you’re living on your own… madre de Dios… we’ve heard those kids’ and their orphan stories how they got adopted into a bad home._ He shuddered at the thought. Jason quickly walked down the stairs and hide his tire iron and tire jack in an alley under a dumpster. He then scanned around the area to look for a convenience store or any place with a restroom so that he could wash up.

After scouring around the block, he soon saw an empty diner with an orange neon sign that spelled the words he wanted to see: We’re Open. He made his way over, opening the door which caused a light jingle to signal a presence in the diner. The waitress didn’t look up to see who entered the diner, she was too invested in the newspaper that she was reading.

“Excuse me Ma’am,” Jason politely asked. “May I use the restroom?”

She never took her eyes off the newspaper as she simply pointed to the direction of the restrooms.

He quickly made his way and entered into the surprisingly clean restroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. His curly hair was a bird’s nest as his face, shirt, and pant was smeared with oil and grease. He ripped off a paper towel and ran it through warm water and some soap. Oil and grease were always stubborn to clean off. Every rub seemed to spread the stains, making them bigger. After some time—and a lot of soap, Jason got most of the grease and oil off his face and hidden from his clothing. He wet his hair and combed it with his fingers, moving his hair to the side to look more presentational. Jason look at himself in the mirror.

“Half decent will do.” He shrugged. As he begin to walk out of the restroom, he smiled as he thought of his mother, Catherine. If she was still alive, she would have scolded him if he were to present himself to people—mostly authorities—like this. Before he exited the diner, he said thank you to the waitress and made his way to GCPD.

Even at this late of an hour, GCPD was wide awake. The noise of phone calls, the rushed police conversations, and the shouts of the criminals asking for their lawyers gave a weird sense of life in this place.

“I guess crime never does sleep.” Jason said under his breath. He began his way to the front of the reception desk where a police officer was drinking her coffee and grumbly reading a file.

“Excuse me ma’am, my name is Tim Harper and I was wondering if I could ask you some questions for my school report about Gotham PD?” Jason lied.  

The officer arched one of her eyebrows. “Kid, what are you doing here by yourself at,” the officer looked at her watched. “Eleven-fifteen at night?”

“Look officer…” Jason scanned for her name tag. “Garcia—my report is due tomorrow and it counts as 80% of my final grade. So can you please, please, _please_ answer a few questions for me? Please?” Jason pleaded.

This cop wasn’t having it. “Where are your parents?”

Jason internally groaned.

“Actually, its…its…. its parent. As in singular. _Mi papá_  left mí y mi mamá a while back. Now, it just been mí y  _mi mamá_  …yup… just mí y  _mi mamá._ ” Jason cursed himself as he felt his tears starting to soak his cheeks. He quickly wiped them away with his sleeves.

The cop felt pity for the boy. “Okay, kid,” She sighed. If it that important to you…ask me what you want to know.”

After ten minutes of conversation, Jason finally got the answer he was looking for. The Bat heavily patrols the south end of Crime Alley. Meaning, his car has to be somewhere near populated south crime alley but at the same time, hidden from civilian sights.

_Think, Jason. Think, think, think…Yes! There is only one place in Southern Crime Alley where you can camouflage any car. The Southside Junkyard! However, there is a gang that roams that part of town. If they see me…I’m dead._

He started an internal debate. Either go over to Southside Junkyard and die trying to get the Bat’s wheels for cash, or not go and just go back to whatever home he could find and not make any money. His stomach suddenly growled as a sharp pang of hunger hit him. _That’s right._ Jason thought. _I need money for food._ He pulled out the pack of his cigarettes from his pocket.

“Great,” he groaned. “I only have one more left, I need to save this for a very, very, _very_ rainy day.” He put the pack of cigarettes back in his pocket as he gave out a big sigh.

“Might as well do it. You are probably going to die of starvation anyway.” He went back to retrieve his tire iron and jack and began his way to his probable death.


	3. He's Not Alone, He's With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any edit mistakes, please let me know! It will be greatly appreciated!

Hiding behind the buildings, and covering himself with the night, it was a miracle that he wasn’t seen by the gang. He stealthy made it to his destination as he silently cheered with victory as he saw the rusty, half broken sign entrance of the junkyard. This place was huge and was filled piled high with rusty cars, unwanted kitchen appliances, and whatever junk people wanted to get rid of. _Mierda_. It will be impossible to find the Bat’s car in this place. Jason kicked the dirt on the ground as he gave out a long sigh. “You made it this far, Jay, don’t give up now.”

 He began his search as he tried to look for anything shiny or placed in the shadows of the night. He didn’t know why, but he felt so determined to find the Bat’s car. After 30 minutes of searching, he thanked whatever god there is as he soon found the treasure he was looking for. The Bat’s car was in the left center of the junk yard partially camouflaging with the night and with surrounding faded, used black cars. Its black coating shone with pristine condition. Jason was surprise that he didn’t see it shining when he was coming in.

He immediately got to work as he began to remove one of the tires with ease. Jason was so focused on his tire ‘borrowing’ procedure that he didn’t hear the multiple footsteps behind him.

“Hey, kid! Whataya think you’s doing on our turf?” Jason turned around and saw the South Gotham Gang making their way towards him. They each wore white t-shirts with black leather jackets. Jason always found it funny how gangs always coordinate their outfits. He was pretty sure they would all wear some funny short panties if their legs could pull it off.

“Oh, just nothing. Just being a good Samaritan and fixing this person’s tires.” Jason sarcastically said.

The man arched one of his eyebrows as he began to clap his hands. “Look what we got ‘ere boys. A lil’ smartass. I’ve neva seen one at such a young age up close before.”

Jason scoffed. “And _I’ve_ never seen a dumbass up close before. So thanks for being my first. I promise I will never forget this special moment.”

Some of the gang members laughed, causing the leader to give his members a furious glare at them.

Jason rolled his eyes as he continued his work, but only to again be disrupted as the leader roughly grabbed Jason, causing him to drop his tire iron. The man had a tight grip on the collar of Jason’s shirt as he lifted Jason off of the ground. Jason gave the man a harsh glare; a warning to let him go.

“Listen you lil’ punk! That big mouth on you is gonna get ya killed someday. You really need to learn how ta shut up. So what if I do you’s a favor. How’s about instead of killing ya, I slice away dat toungue of yours?”

Jason smiled as he simply spat on the man’s face. “Go ahead.”

“You punk ass bitch! Now I’m gonna kill ya! No one will hear ya screams. You’re all alone, boy!” The man yelled as he roughly threw Jason on the floor.

“He’s not alone. He’s with me.” Jason froze as he recognized that voice. Batman appeared out from the shadows and stood next to Jason. The leader and some of his gang members automatically ran away as the others were too shock to move.

One of the gang members regained their composure. “You think we’re scared of ya Batman? C’mon boys! Let’s show this freak real fear!” Jason quickly got up and put up his fists as he was ready to fight, but the Bat pushed him behind his car for cover.

“Stay here.” The Bat ordered.

“Waa?” Jason confusedly said.

Jason saw Batman taking them out one by one. But there were just too many. Jason knew that he had to help the Bat. He quickly reached over to his tire iron and mentally prepared himself for the fight.

_Cálmate.. Just aim for the knees or any other soft spots._ He felt the adrenaline course through his veins as he quickly got up as he begin to fight the rest of the four gang members. He saw one of the gang members charging at Batman. Quickly, Jason threw his tire iron at the man, hitting him square in the face. The man fell down hard as he yelled that his whole face was in pain.

Three left.

One of the members blocked Jason from his tire iron as he smiled at Jason’s predicament. “Watcha gonna do now without your toy?” He teased.

Jason raised one of his eyebrows. “Well for starters,” Jason slid under the legs of the man as he then got his tire iron and whacked him on his back. The man fell down as he groaned in pain. “I’m gonna do that.”

Two more left.

Jason saw how Batman was wrapped around the arms of the one of the muggers as the other one was getting ready to stab him.

“Let him go!” Jason yelled as he charged at the man holding the Bat down. He quickly struck his tire iron on the man’s back as the man cursed in pain, causing to loosen his grip on the Bat. Batman took this opportunity as he grabbed the man’s arm and flipped him hard on the ground. The last other member had a horrified look on his face as he slowly backed away, dropped his knife, and ran away.

Batman turned around and gave a hard glare to Jason; Jason simply responded back with the same exact look.

“I told you to stay by my car. You could’ve gotten hurt.”

“No. You told me to stay _here._ The word here meaning the junkyard. And I don’t have to listen to you. I am my owe man. Me-- Jason Todd.” He said as he held his head up high with confidence.

Batman looked at the kid in front of him. He was slightly pale, head strong, covered in grim, and looks like he hasn’t been properly fed in days. Batman was about to ask him more questions until he heard footsteps…they were already too close. He turned around as the leader of the gang pointed a gun towards them. Jason furrowed his eyebrows together as he felt more adrenaline spike in his veins. Unconsciously, he moved closer to Batman.

“Move any muscle and I shoot da kid.” The man said as he clocked his gun and pointed it at Jason. Batman looked at the boy next to him and saw the mixture of fright and determination in his eyes.

The thought of this man hurting this boy made Batman feel his anger bubble up inside of him. Batman knows he must protect the boy. The Bat quickly analyzed the given information. _The man is shaking and sweating, meaning his anxious. I can use this to my advantage. I have a batarang in my side pocket and my GCPD alert transmitter on my left pocket. First, I need to press the transmitter then I need to get my batarang. If I throw my batarang at him, it will knock the gun out of his hand. However, due to his anxious condition, he will shoot first then drop the gun. The shot will hit Jason’s shoulder. At this distance and with other variables, it will take approximately 6 seconds for the bullet to meet Jason, but I can easily block it. Now, I just need to get him to talk to me. Make him look directly into my eyes so he can be oblivious to my movements._

“Garret Turf. Attended Gotham Academy with a full ride to study biochemical engineering. You were in the top 10 of your class. Three years later, you dropped out of Gotham Academy after you’re mother passed away. At 18 years of age, you were convicted of drugs charges. Spent 3 years in Blackgate. At 23, you were a suspect of the murder of your father Victor Turf. All the evidence pointed to you, but somehow, you were let free.”

Garret gave Batman a confused and angry look. “You sick freak! Have you’ve been stalking me?”

“I believe he calls it gathering evidence.” Jason stated.

Batman saw his chance as Daniel turned his attention towards Jason. He quickly pressed the GCPD transmitter as he then got his batarang out and held it in his right hand as this side was more hidden by his cape.

Garret gave Jason an annoyed look. “Kid, shut the fuck up. I’ve had enough of you today.”

“Garret, I know about you blackmailing the judge.” Batman saw how Garret now has a tighter grip on his gun. _Getting closer. Keep him talking._

Garret clenched his jaw as his now looked at Batman straight in his eyes. “You don’t know shit.”

            “I know that you saw and recorded Judge Huey--the judge for your case-- shooting heroin and other illegal drugs, sneaking off to secluded areas with prostitutes, and conducting illegal business operations.”

Garret smiled. “You’ll be surprised how many of Gotham’s ‘prestige royalty and finest’ were there.” He began to laugh. “The cops would be drowin’ in their justice bullshit if they were to search one of these parties. But of course, those pigs are paid to stay silent.”

“Garret, blackmailing a judge can add ten plus years in prison.” Batman stated as he saw Garret clenching his fists as his posture became more hostile. _I think I can get Garret to point the gun at me. I just got to make his anger directed at me._ Batman thought.

“Why did you kill your father, Garret?” Batman asked.

“Probably wasn’t there to read him his bed time stories.” Jason snorted as he look at Batman for the approval for his remark.

The Bat gave Jason a hard stare that stated, ‘As of right now, you will stop intervening or you will get us both killed’.

Jason got the message.

“You really want to die today—do ya kid?”

_Quick. Take the attention off Jason._ “How many times did your father abuse you and your mother?”

Garret snarled as he pointed the gun towards Batman. _Perfect._ “Don’t you fuckin’ talk about my mother!” He shouted.

“Garret, I am truly sorry what happened to you and your mother. No one deserves that.” Batman said.

“Shut up. I don’t want you’re sympathy. The old bastard got what he deserved. I made sure of it.” Garret angrily stated.

            From the distance, the sounds of the police sirens echoed through the junkyard. Daniel looked at the direction of the noise. _This is your chance._ Quickly, Batman threw his batarang at Garret’s hand. Garret—who was already on edge—jumped in sudden fear, causing him to aim his gun in Jason’s direction. Seeing this, Batman speedily jumped in front of Jason as he felt the pressure of the bullet hit the center of his bat symbol. Batman fell to the floor as Garret dropped his gun and shrieked in pain when the batarang stung his hand.

“Batman!” Jason yelled. The boy quickly grabbed his tire iron and gave his throw everything he’s got as it struck Garret’s head, making him fall unconscious on the ground.

Batman gave a small groan in pain as he stood up. “Nice work, Jason.”

“Waa?” Jason said surprised. “I thought he killed you! He shot you right in the chest!” Jason exclaimed in disbelief.

Batman smirked as he tapped on his bat symbol. “You need to give criminals a target spot they could see and want to shoot.”

Jason shook his head in disbelief as his stomached gave out a loud growl.

“When was the last time you ate?” Batman asked.

 Before Jason can answer, a shout was heard through the junkyard.

“This is Commissioner Gordon! Put your hands up in the air!” The commissioner and several other cops appeared as they gathered around the scene and began apprehending the fallen criminals.

“Batman, I got your alert. What happened?” Commissioner Gordon asked.

“I have evidence about Judge Huey and his ‘fun’ private times. Also, I have evidence of Garret Turf part taking action of the murder of his father Victor Turf. I’ll send you the recorded evidence.” Batman stated.

Commissioner Gordon and Batman continued talking about the evidences of the case until Batman realized something—no someone—was missing…

_Where is the boy? Where is Jason Todd?_

 

Jason snuck away from the Bat when the he and the commissioner were chatting away. He went back to the Bat’s car unseen and resumed his work which he was previously disrupted from. He got one of the wheels off and began to roll it out from the junkyard.

“I came to get these damn tires and I’ll be damned if I didn’t leave without one of them.” Jason said to himself. As he was rolling the tire, the feeling of greed struck him. _Taking one of the Bat’s tire will be a lot of cha-ching. However… taking two of the Bat’s tires…now that will be a whole lot of CHA-CHING! With that kind of money, I can probably feed myself good for two or three weeks!_ He hastily made his way out of the junkyard as he quickly hid the tire behind the pile of trash in the alley way and made his way back to the junkyard.

 

Batman was going to look for the boy. If he was by himself this late of an hour doing god knows what, chances are he doesn’t have any parents or family members to take care of him. He walked over to his—car?

“I don’t believe it!” Batman exclaimed as he crouched down and began to appraise the situation. One of his car’s tires was missing; but who would...Jason. The Bat then began to do something he hasn’t done in a long time: laugh.

 

Jason returned to the Bat’s car location and did a sweep around the area—no Bat or police officers were in sight. He smiled in satisfaction as he began to work on taking off the second tire.

“Need any help, boy?” Batman’s voice rang out.

_Whoops._ Jason thought. He slowly turned around as Batman stood before him.

“I am going to need you to give my tires back. Now.” Jason held his breath as he did the only thing he can do.

He whacked the Bat with his tire iron and ran off shouting, “Try and catch me you boob!” Jason was home free for a good ten seconds until the Bat suddenly and mysteriously appeared right in front of him.

_Waa?_ Jason thought. _How did he do that?_

It was almost like a standoff as the air around them laid heavy with silence as they glared at each other for what seemed for the longest of time. However, that was all broken when Jason’s stomached growled.

The Batman’s glare soften as he then asked Jason a simple question: “What is your favorite burger joint?”

 


	4. Shared Meals with Shared Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be my last chapter for a little while because I am going on a cruise next week and my family and I are leaving tomorrow. Even if this gets zero reads I am still gonna be posting because--why not? This is good writing practice! Anyways, thank you for reading! :)

After giving back the Bat’s tires and helping him putting them back on, they drove to Big Belly Burger. The car that Batman calls the ‘Batmobile’ was a ride Jason will never forget. The inside of the car was something that Jason had read in a sci-fi novel. The car drove like if they were driving on velvet, there was so many buttons that for sure no but Batman could remember, and the seats were so damn comfortable. So you can imagine the face the cashier had when a car like this pulls up through a drive through window (you can also imagine the cashier’s face when they saw that the driver of this rad car is the _actual_ _Batman of Gotham_ who then begins ordering a ‘Superman’ Burger with large fries and a coke and a ‘Wonder’ Burger with curly fries and a chocolate shake).

 

After getting their meals, Batman drove them out to a hill located on the county line of Gotham where the sun was beginning to rise. Here, the grass was a rich dark green and the flowers were blooming into spring. The air also seemed cleaner and fresher than the air inside the city. For visitors who were about to enter into Gotham, this area gave an illusion that this city will be welcoming; like everyone in Gotham will welcome you with warm hearts and custom made goodie bags. Well… they will be in for a surprise. This city has always been cold and harsh (if you ask a Gothamite why it is impossible for them to be nice or civil, they will loudly tell you to go fuck yourself to Metropolis).

Jason and Batman got out of the Batmobile and sat on top of the car and began eating their meals. Jason shivered at the explosion of greasy, juicy, and cheesy flavors of his burger.

“Ohmygod, this is so good! I haven’t had one of these in such a long time! Thank you, sir!” Jason said as he then took another big bite of his burger.

“When is the last time you ate a meal?”  Batman questioned as he took a big slurp from his coke.

Jason furrowed his brows together as then decided to save the rest of his burger and fries.

“Can’t remember.”

Batman pressed his lips together as he truly looked at the boy. He was all alone. What makes the matter even worse is that he is all alone in _Gotham._ He has no family, no friends; all he had was himself. Maybe that is why he is so rash and stubborn.

_He had to be if he was going to survive on the streets._ Batman thought.

“Do you think that I will end up like him—Garret Turf?” Jason’s voice was soft as he asked this question. It was almost like he wanted to say it but did not want anyone to hear him.

Oh, but the Bat heard. He heard it loud and clear. “No.” He simply stated.

Jason was taken back at this. He expected Batman to give the whole superhero speech on the Bat seeing the good in him and to not give into the evil and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

“What do you mean no?” Jason questioned defensively. He didn’t mean to come out in a defensive tone, but he has been hurt too many times by lies disguised as promises.  And in this moment, Jason knew the Bat was going to make some kind of promise to him.

“Because I won’t let that happen. I promise you, Jason.” Jason can hear the conviction in Batman’s voice. He almost sounded like his mother…

Jason scoffed. “Yeah right.”

“I’m serious Jason. You remind me of myself when I was young.”

“Hey now, my childhood is not consisting of me drinking blood or living in caves.” Jason snorted.

“No, I mean being mad at the world for taking away your parents without a moment’s notice.”

Jason froze. “How do you—have you been watching me?”

Batman smirked. “I believe I call it gathering evidence.”

“I-I can’t believe it. Now the god damn Bat knows my personal life.” Jason said disbelief as he shook his head while he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“So it will be only fair to you if you knew one of my biggest personal secrets.” The Bat said.

“What, are you going to tell me that you are actually a robot instead of a human?”

Jason saw Batman taking off his cowl, revealing himself to be billionaire Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises.

Jason arched one of his eyebrows. “Oh. You’re that famous charity guy.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story is going to be my own little take on what Jason was seeing/ remembering during his death that caused him to automatically scream out "Batman!" when he resurrected. Alsoooooo, thank you for reading my fic!


End file.
